2013 stock show auction breaks record with $623,000 in sales

By BY ALLISON MILES - AMILES@VICAD.COM
March 5, 2013 at 7:04 p.m.Updated March 4, 2013 at 9:05 p.m.

TO CONTRIBUTE

Looking to contribute to a Victoria Livestock Show participant's auction earnings? There's still time.

Auction organizers will accept add-ons or additional money added to what participants received through March 19, said Billie Hessler, the auction's committee chairwoman.

For more information, email vlsauction@yahoo.com.

Monday night's Victoria Livestock Show auction did more than reward participants after monthslong animal projects.

It also shattered records.

Preliminary numbers show the auction brought in an all-time high of $623,000, said Billie Hessler, the auction chairwoman. That's a more than $53,000 increase over the 2012 record, $569,800.

"I am very pleased," Hessler said Tuesday of the auction, which spanned 4:30 p.m. to about midnight inside the Victoria Community Center dome. "I think it was awesome."

The evening got off to a rocky start, she said, with microphone and computer issues creating afternoon obstacles.

Organizers also introduced a bit of change, Hessler said, noting new auctioneers and several new spotters joined the ranks. Powerpoint slides, which offered up more participant information than in the past, were another new addition.

Any time change comes to an event as old as the auction, she said, it can be nerve-racking.

"All of that being said, it all came out fine," Hessler said, noting she was especially pleased at the variety of buyers, which included car dealerships, oil companies and more. "I'm very happy."